The main fear of the locals was they may be not involved in the promising resorts

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MOSCOW, April 6 (Itar-Tass) —— Representatives of Balkaria and management of the Resorts of the North Caucasus state –run company discussed on Friday future of the tourism cluster in Russia’s Kabardino-Balkaria Republic.

The meeting in Moscow featured representatives of the Elbrus and Cherek regions of Kabardino-Balkaria, where tourism-recreational complexes will be built, press service of the company said stressing that the company was represented by its Director General Alexei Novikov and leaders of all core directions.

The region’s representatives confirmed the locals supported the idea of development tourism and realised what advantages the project would bring to them. “Never ever had the Caucasus a project, which could be so beneficial,” Head of the Elbrusoid Foundation and leader of the Karachai-Balkaria regional organisation Bars El Aliy Totorkulov said. “None of the residents is against the resort,” Abuseid Gerieyv from Verkhnaya Balkaria settlement in the Cherek region said.

“Everyone realises the resorts will bring new quality of life,” former senator Husein Chechenov said. Earlier, he was the head of the republic’s government.

All the delegates stressed the main fear of the locals was they may be not involved in the promising resorts.

“The idea of the tourism cluster does not cause any doubts, but the locals need guarantees of their personal involvement in the project,” a prominent economist Boris Rakhayev said. The major outstanding issue being non-regulated land relations in the mountainous regions.

“If the local authorities settled this sensitive issue, the locals would be guaranteed involvement in the project of the tourism cluster as co-owners,” Chechenov said. Should the people be sure of their involvement in the project, the youth, which had left villages searching for jobs, would learn the professions requested at resorts and would return home to work there. “Formation of a stable market in the regions would revive the livestock sector, too,” he added.

Head of the Elbrus settlement Uzeir Kurdanov, in his turn, said the Elbrus region had settled the issue of land property, and the borders of the tourism-recreation special economic zone had been set. “Now, every local is getting ready to build a cafe, or a hotel, or something different, which is requested at a resort,” he said.

Alexei Nevsky stressed residents of the special economic zone during development of their businesses will receive unprecedented benefits in taxes, as well as special loan conditions for development of businesses. Villagers, not involved in private businesses, will be able to find a job and to have career growth at tourism complexes.

Deputy Director General of the Resorts of the North Caucasus Yuri Karpenko said at the very beginning of the work on the Elbrus and Bezengi tourism-recreation complexes would offer several thousand jobs for local residents, and further on – 30,000 jobs in the tourism industry, without taking into account neighbouring sectors. He explained that “works at the Elbrus resort may begin very soon, and as far as the Bezengi resort – the organisation of the special economic zone will be possible only after the fixing of the land rights among the local residents – without this, organisation of a resort is impossible.”

“We should realise, that refusing to construct the resort will affect the local residents, who would be deprived of the opportunities, which many other regions would love to have. We have a packet of requests and suggestions from other regions in the Caucasus, which aspire joining the project and are ready to settle all technical and legal aspects without delays,” Nevsky said. All participants in the meeting confirmed they would continue the dialogue and agreed the next meeting would take place in the territory of future resorts in Kabardino-Balkaria.